Palm Beach Up In Arms Over Bare-chested Ban

August 15, 1985|By Marty Fisher of The Sentinel Staff and By Marty Fisher, Sentinel Correspondent

You wouldn't expect it from a city in steamy Florida, but there is a law against running topless in Palm Beach.

A city ordinance states that anyone 14 or older, regardless of sex, must keep his or her upper body covered except on private property or on the beach.

Violators may be fined up to $500. The law, a bone of contention for Palm Beach's runners all seven years it has been in effect, is being fought in the courts.

Only 10 people have been charged with breaking the law, and no one has been fined. Violators were issued summonses to appear in court.

Leading the pack of angry runners are attorney Allen Deweese and the Palm Beach Runners Club. Deweese, 37, was the first person to be ticketed and later arrested for the charge of ''indecent exposure -- lewdness.'' He immediately filed suit against the city and several local officials.

The law was ruled unconstitutional in 1981.

The city of Palm Beach responded with another law, changing the penalty from a prison term to a fine. Deweese sued and won again. The city appealed, and in March the district court upheld the Palm Beach appeal.

Deweese and his attorney, Jim Green, are back in court fighting the recent court ruling. Meanwhile, Palm Beach Police have decided not to enforce the law until the issue is decided.

Green has argued for his client's right to dress or undress any way he wants as long as he doesn't overexpose himself in public. Green contends that flabby people are more offensive and damaging to the reputation Palm Beach wants to uphold.

''I resent being forced to wear any more clothing than I want,'' Deweese said. ''The people here don't like runners without shirts, so, by God, they're going to make a law to stop it. I think we'll win this time, but it probably won't be until the fall before we have any results.''

In the meantime, Deweese and Palm Beach's runners (the men, anyway) can run with abandon without their shirts.